Before turning on the IME  software, you must first start the program you want to enter text into (for example, your e-mail program) and make it the "active" program (the "active" program has a coloured title bar at the top of it's window).

Then, press the left-hand "Alt" key and the "Shift" key at the same time.  The IME  toolbar should appear somewhere on your screen, looking something like this:

Note that you turn the IME software on and off for each program.  If you have two programs open and you turn on the IME software for one of them, the IME bar will disappear when you switch to the second program, and reappear when you switch back to the first.

The IME Toolbar

Here's a guide to the various parts of the IME toolbar.  (Note - this diagram shows the toolbar in Windows 2000.  The toolbar looks somewhat different in different versions of Windows, and it's also possible to customize the toolbar by adding or removing buttons so the toolbar you see may not look exactly the same as the one shown below):

• Quick On/Off
  A small button which provides a quick way to switch between direct and Japanese input modes.
• Drag Tab
  You can click-drag on this part of the toolbar to move it to a different place on the screen.
• Input Mode
  Switches between various kana, and roman input modes.
• Conversion Mode
  Tells the IME how bias it's search for matching kanji characters.
• IME Pad
  Provides different options for entering kanji characters, including a way to "draw" the characters.
• Register Words
  Allows you to add your own custom words to the dictionary.
• Properties
  Allows you to set many preferences and operating characteristics.
• Edit Dictionary
  Allows you to edit the dictionary.
• Help
  Brings up help information (in Japanese).
• Lock Modes
  Forces the IME to use kana characters or uppercase roman characters.